Pretty soon TV viewers will see Mariska Hargitay in a role she’s never played before, and it’s one-night-only – host of the Primetime Emmy Awards. You might not immediately think of her as a comedian, but then neither does she, she tells Deadline.
This fall, Hargitay returns for an astounding 28th season as Det. (now Capt.) Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: SVU, but before that, on September 14th, Hargitay will take to the Emmys stage.
The host slot often goes to performers with a comedy background: standup comic Nate Bargatze did the honors last year. The year before, the show was hosted by comedic actors Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. The last time the Emmys were on NBC, the ceremony was emceed by SNL veteran Kenan Thompson. Hargitay says she hasn’t consulted previous hosts “because I’m not a comedian, so that’s not my thing. I think I’ll do it a little bit different than they would. And I think that they asked me to do it because of that. I think that they also want to switch it up a little bit.”
We’re doing something different this year, and I’m excited about that. And I’m allowing that… I’m going to do the Mariska Emmys.
“I’m at a place in my life where I am excited about doing new things. And if not now, when?” Hargitay says. “It’s such an extraordinary opportunity and I am excited about it. I’m excited to see all the people. I’m excited to celebrate people’s work. I guess I don’t really see it as about me. I see it about being part of something so historic.”
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She adds, “I’m sort of taking that pressure off myself because there’s so many genius comedians out there that are just so funny and people that just I love and worship and truly make me so happy, but that’s not what they wanted. And so we’re doing something different this year, and I’m excited about that. And I’m allowing that… I’m going to do the Mariska Emmys.”
As the September 12 Primetime Emmys approach, Hargitay shared insights on her preparations, including a collaboration with the staff of a newly unemployed late-night host.
“We’re at the beginning stages, and so we’re throwing out a lot of different ideas,” she notes. “I’m working with an incredible team of writers — the writers from Colbert… We’ve been meeting a lot and discussing a lot and pitching a lot of ideas. We’re pitching so many ideas.”
I cannot tell you how many people — famous people — ask to be a dead body on SVU.
One that’s being discussed: a comedy bit with an SVU touch.
“I cannot tell you how many people — famous people — ask to be a dead body on the show. It’s a thing,” Hargitay laughs. “And it is so funny to me that that’s what they want out of all the things… just to be a dead body. It’s on their bucket list. That’s one of the ideas that we were talking about. So, I don’t know where it’s going to go. We have all these ideas and now it’s sort of picking the best and editing and cutting it and see what we’re going to do.”
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Starring on the uber-serious Law & Order: SVU might not seem like ideal preparation for an Emmy hosting romp. And yet…
“If you came to the set of SVU and you saw how we cope with things and the long hours and the subject matter, there’s a lot of joking because it’s a marathon,” Hargitay relates. “I think I’ve always used humor to cope with everything. And so it’s sort of more me than not, if you will. Olivia Benson is a character that I live in a box. That’s a character. But if you knew me, I live in the comedy world. It’s how I deal with things. So, this is maybe even more comfortable in a way.”
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Also serving Hargitay well – performing live in her Broadway debut over the summer in the play Every Brilliant Thing.
“Actually, I thought about that exact thing and I said, ‘I don’t know that I would’ve agreed to host the Emmys if I hadn’t just had that experience,’” she affirms. “It was interesting because I got the call to host the Emmys as I was backstage preparing to go on. It was a 3 o’clock show on Sunday and I saw that my phone was ringing… I looked and it was Pearlena [Igbokwe], head of NBC, and I was like, ‘Why is she calling me on a Sunday? Is everything OK?’ And the fact that I was in my dressing room preparing to go out to do this live thing and doing something that was so foreign to me before I did it and something I was terrified at doing, but so excited about — two, three things can be true at once.”
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Hargitay continues, I went, ‘Pearlena, I’m not a comedian. That’s not what I do. This is normally a job for comedians.’ And then I thought about it over the weekend and I said, ‘Bring it.’ And I think that having this sublime, just incredibly rewarding experience on Broadway and having this interactive relationship with the audience and a live audience was so extraordinary and again, thrilling to me that I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’”
It’s been an extraordinary year for Hargitay. In addition to completing her 27th season on Law & Order: SVU and making her Broadway debut, she made her nonfiction directorial debut with the documentary My Mom Jayne, an exploration of her mother, the late actress Jayne Mansfield, and buried family secrets. The HBO film has earned 3 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special (the documentary categories will be announced at the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony earlier in September, so Hargitay will be free and clear by the time the Primetime show rolls around on the 12th).
The catharsis of directing the documentary paved the way, Hargitay believes, for daring career moves like Broadway and the Emmy hosting role.
“I don’t think the things that have happened afterwards would’ve happened without this film coming into the world,” she observes. “And I remember afterwards, people asked me how I felt and I described it as I have more internal space… That’s what I mean about how healing it was.”
The curtain rises on the “Mariska Emmys” Monday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, broadcast live coast to coast and streaming simultaneously on Peacock from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.
